She walked away

(Sharp intake of breath)

As the man in the white coat turned around to leave

I held her hand firmly. She lay there still.

The touch of my calloused hand didn’t move her.

I tried to hold it back but that forsaken tear rolled down my cheek.

It fell another ring on my finger

That ring, polished bright with my love.

I did not remember to resist as tear after tear rolled down.

There was deafening silence when I realized only my thoughts kept me company.

I begged for it to be gone, repeating a quiet prayer in my head.

But the horizontal line on the monitor told another story

Vivid memories on my now parched heart

Resurfaced from certain fathoms

I didn’t think existed

The intricate line between belief and acceptance smoothened out.

I yearned for our infinity

In the face of fate we stood defeated.

Just then I saw a piece of paper in her pale hands.

Inside in her shaky handwriting,

She had inked words with the blackest hue,

That somehow resembled the obsidian waste,

Which was now my heart.

“love, just breath”

                                                        ~ Ashaani Taneja  

                                                         Dehradun, India